2 Renault Cars that are Perfect fit for Pakistan

What a year 2016 has turned out to be for the automotive industry of Pakistan. Ever since the announcement of the new Auto Policy, it seems as if we have been served with a buffet of automobile brands. With Renault becoming the first prospective entrant to reveal their investment plans for Pakistan officially, it must be noted that Datsun, Nissan and SsangYong are also set to follow suit.

Now, it is about time for us to take a look at cars from Renault that may well be the perfect fit for our market.

First up: Kwid

Renault Kwid

Kwid has been able to receive universal acclaim for its class, leading ground clearance and extremely affordable price tag. Starting off with affordability, Kwid in India starts at the cost of INR 264,000, which translates to PKR 413,000. And since Kwid is cheaper than even Maruti 800 in India, by only using the idea of value relativity, we wouldn’t be too surprised to see it coming with a price tag lesser than that of a Mehran in Pakistan.

Renault Kwid’s 300-litre boot space

Being an entry-level crossover, Kwid comes with a striking exterior characteristics, a length of 3,679 mm complimented by a wheelbase of 2,422 mm and width of 1,579 mm. On top of all that, you get a ground clearance of 180 mm and a decent 300-liter boot space. In terms of engine options, customers in other markets get to choose either a 0.8-liter or a 1.0-liter engine, both of which are claimed to be capable of achieving fuel efficiency in the sub 20km/litre bracket.

Dashboard of Renault Kwid

As far as the interior is concerned, Kwid comes with one, that at-least to me, looks better than what you usually get in modern Kei cars; thanks to its superior form factor and a larger cabin space. But as with any other “to-be-released” car, a verdict can only be given after seeing the car first hand.

September sales for Kwid clocks in at over 10k in India

Next up: Duster

Renault Duster

Next on the list is the long-rumored Duster, previously speculated to be coming through Renault-Dewan joint venture (which never made through), now finally seems to be nearing its journey to Pakistani Market. For starters, Duster is a compact SUV, which has been in production since 2009.

Renault Duster Tail Lights

With a decent starting price of INR 854,000, Duster’s main selling point is its affordability. Granted the relatively favorable duty structure and a fierce compact SUV competition present in India, we can still expect it to fall in the sub-PKR 2.0 million-2.5 million price point when it eventually launches in Pakistan.

Renault Duster Interior

Further to its attractive pricing, Duster comes with an option of both, four-wheel and two-wheel drivetrains. In India, only gasoline option arrives in the form of a 1.6-liter engine, which is capable enough to produce 104-HP and 148-Nm of torque. With the distinctive exterior styling and decent dimensions, probably the greatest understatement to Renault Duster comes through the virtue of its relatively underpowered engine and a dull interior. Other than those two, Duster has pretty much every box checked, to make a name for itself in our market.

Renault in Pakistan

Now as things are pointed in the right direction, we hope that Renault bears in mind the competitive edge they could induce by exploiting two of Pakistan’s fundamental selling points: ground clearance and price, both of which can be best served with the launch of Duster and Kwid.

Adan is a Tribe Leader at Drive Tribe, who writes to share his passion for cars, culture and gadgetry through words. So far his writings and contributions have been able to make their way to media outlets like PakWheels and Dawn. Reach out to him by tweeting @adanali12

Am I the only one that finds the name “Duster” hilariously bad? What’s next Renault Sweeper?

Scorpion86

Renault Chalk :p

Titan67

Is Kwid a crossover?

Mohammad Zeeshan Fahd

I think TWINGO, CLIO (in lower class) and Megane (upper end) are models that may succeed …. I doubt they will have a chance in our market with above proposed models … I guess the blogger above consulted indian renult and thus commented on above models …..

Sanjay Natarajan

A pseudo-crossover, may be! It looks like one, but actually it isn’t.

Sanjay Natarajan

The author has forgot that localisation of the kwid has helped Renault achieve this rock-bottom prices. Kwid is localised at over 98%.

Sheikh

I bet you haven’t seen the author. Hez a school kid who write blogs for pakwheels

Agreed about the localisation…. And granted the incentives in place for new entrants for Pakistan….. seeing Kwid for a price of around PKR 700,000 won’t come as a surprise especially when you also keep in view Renault’s plans to invest $100 million for manufacturing in Pakistan

Dear Zeeshan, as for any other product region plays an extremely important role in its availability. Although TWINGO would make complete sense for Pakistani market, it is currently only available for European markets and is assembled in only one plant which is in Slovenia, same goes for Clio and Megane which I believe are only being made in France and Turkey, all of that give slim chances of their launch in Pakistan. Kwid and Duster however are 2 cars for which Renault has been vocal about and has reportedly expressed their interest to BOI (Board of Investment) in bringing them to Pakistan.

Don’t bring Renault in Pakistan they are the worst car, bring general motors car they are better and reliable.
Pakistani from France.

GuestPaki

Yes, but GM will not give cut to Mr. 50% and will not buy steel from Sharif family for their cars. So no luck there.

GuestPaki

Mark my words, Pakistanis will have to pay 4 times more for this sub-standard crap than what Indians pay. Because Islamabad is in control of looters who don’t want Pakistani people to drive better cars.